Famille Hugel
Riesling ESTATE 2016
A new selection "parcellaire" of carefully chosen plots of the Famille Hugel estate situated in Riquewihr in its most prestigious crus. Most of the plots chosen for this new wine are being converted into Organic viticulture.
The unique marl soils of Riquewihr, in and around the Schoenenbourg give a characteristic minerality to wines from this remarkable terroir.
A wine of depth and of patience.
The unique marl soils of Riquewihr, in and around the Schoenenbourg give a characteristic minerality to wines from this remarkable terroir.
A wine of depth and of patience.
Specifications
Alcohol content : 12.15 % vol.
Residual Sugar : 4.4 g/l
Tartaric acidity : 8.13 g/l
pH : 2.99
Age of vines : 36 years old
Yield : 50 hl/ha hL/ha
Presentation
Quick View
Riesling is the Pinot Noir of white wines! It is our most demanding variety as it is also the latest ripening. Dry and elegant, it expresses itself best on our steepest slopes with the most complex minerality.
The vintage
After three years of extremely low yields, we can at last say 2016 has been a generous vintage! Unlike most of France, which has been severely hit by hail and frost, Alsace was probably the luckiest of the major wine regions this year. The vintage can really be divided in two halves as weather, which caused us great concern initially, then took a turn for the better around the end of June.
Spring did not unfold without incident, with a few frost alerts in April and even in the beginning of May, followed by the wettest month of June (157mm) in decades! Careful monitoring of the vineyards was key with an outbreak of mildew, extremely rare in the region.
The only window of bright sun during Spring came at the end of June, just in time for a perfect and, for the least, complete blossoming between June 17 and 21.
Summer came out very dry and hot and harvest saw dry and cool conditions (only three real days of rain in seven weeks) resulting in perfect sanitary status across all grape varieties. Due to the late vintage, harvesting started extremely slowly on September 27, one of the latest and longest campaigns of the recent years.
2016 is the first vintage in over a decade that hasn’t seen the production of any botrytis wines at Hugel; due to the late vintage and the optimum health of the grapes, noble rot did not develop, resulting in a classic vintage for dry wines only.
Spring did not unfold without incident, with a few frost alerts in April and even in the beginning of May, followed by the wettest month of June (157mm) in decades! Careful monitoring of the vineyards was key with an outbreak of mildew, extremely rare in the region.
The only window of bright sun during Spring came at the end of June, just in time for a perfect and, for the least, complete blossoming between June 17 and 21.
Summer came out very dry and hot and harvest saw dry and cool conditions (only three real days of rain in seven weeks) resulting in perfect sanitary status across all grape varieties. Due to the late vintage, harvesting started extremely slowly on September 27, one of the latest and longest campaigns of the recent years.
2016 is the first vintage in over a decade that hasn’t seen the production of any botrytis wines at Hugel; due to the late vintage and the optimum health of the grapes, noble rot did not develop, resulting in a classic vintage for dry wines only.
In the vineyard
Selection "parcellaire" of some of the best plots within the Hugel family estate in Riquewihr in its most prestigious crus.
A very clear dominance of the
Schoenenbourg character with its unique marly character.
A very clear dominance of the
Schoenenbourg character with its unique marly character.
Winemaking
The grapes are taken in small tubs to the presses, which are filled by gravity, without any pumping or other mechanical intervention.
After pressing, the must is decanted for a few hours, then fermented in temperature-controlled barrels or vats (at 18 to 24°C). The wine is racked just once, before natural clarification during the course of the winter. The following spring, the wine is lightly filtered just before bottling, and the bottles are then aged in our cellars until released for sale.
The whole production of this wine is closed with DIAM the cork without the risk of cork taint.
After pressing, the must is decanted for a few hours, then fermented in temperature-controlled barrels or vats (at 18 to 24°C). The wine is racked just once, before natural clarification during the course of the winter. The following spring, the wine is lightly filtered just before bottling, and the bottles are then aged in our cellars until released for sale.
The whole production of this wine is closed with DIAM the cork without the risk of cork taint.
Presentation
Varietal
Riesling : 100%
Specifications
Alcohol content : : 12.15 % vol.
Residual Sugar : : 4.4 g/l
Tartaric acidity : : 8.13 g/l
pH : : 2.99
Age of vines : : 36 years old
Yield : : 50 hl/ha hL/ha
Advice
Video
Tasting notes by Serge Dubs, World's Best Sommelier 1989
Very attractive to the eye with a nice and intense density, straw and lemon yellow with plenty of light green highlights, a wonderful brightness and silvery sparkle over tight and sophisticatedly smooth legs.
For the nose it is generous and complex with an attractive purity in its expression, well-stated and full-flavoured with a nice harmony between the fruity aroma and an excellent minerality which is quite unusual considering its youth.
Spring flowers, Granny Smith apples, white peaches, lilies, acacia blossom.
On the palate it leaves a sensation of fullness with all of the strength and lively noble temperament of the Riesling grape variety and its region’s river bed clay soil that guarantees its generosity, body and wonderful structure leaving a nice, full and long-lasting finish.
Ideal for immediate consumption. This is a gastronomic wine that can be laid down for 5 to 12 years, best served at 8°C.
Sea fish: roast turbot, ray in butter, king prawns and lobster, pike in Riesling, smoked eel, Arctic char. Coq au Riesling, veal Blanquette, roast pork.
For the nose it is generous and complex with an attractive purity in its expression, well-stated and full-flavoured with a nice harmony between the fruity aroma and an excellent minerality which is quite unusual considering its youth.
Spring flowers, Granny Smith apples, white peaches, lilies, acacia blossom.
On the palate it leaves a sensation of fullness with all of the strength and lively noble temperament of the Riesling grape variety and its region’s river bed clay soil that guarantees its generosity, body and wonderful structure leaving a nice, full and long-lasting finish.
Ideal for immediate consumption. This is a gastronomic wine that can be laid down for 5 to 12 years, best served at 8°C.
Sea fish: roast turbot, ray in butter, king prawns and lobster, pike in Riesling, smoked eel, Arctic char. Coq au Riesling, veal Blanquette, roast pork.
